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I’ve noticed that in any contract, the large print giveth and the small print taketh away.
Pastor and Author, Warren Wiersbe

Warren Wiersbe said that at a Pastor’s Conference many years ago.

It’s funny because it’s true.
And it’s just as true today about the lies Satan tells us when he dangles temptation in our faces.

Every temptation is in the BIGGEST BOLDEST PRINT.

Every consequence is in the smallest print and buried on the back of the last page way down at the bottom.

Satan is the original One-Trick-Pony.
He has one strategy designed to attack our thoughts.
Just one.
To get you and me to believe a lie.

Read Genesis 3:1-7 if you think I’ve oversimplified this.
He brings down our entire species with a lie.
You don’t need any theological training to spot his modus operandi.

Tell Eve a WHOPPER.
Remove any negative consequences for her.
Promise her the moon.
Get Madison Avenue to design the pitch.

HERE’S THE ANATOMY OF A LIE:

It questions what God has said
It contradicts truth directly and boldly
It insinuate that God is withholding something really good
It promises a desirable outcome in the most self-satisfying terms
It bonds with our human inclination toward sin and draws strength from our doubts about the love and wisdom of God for us and our lives.

The problem is that the downside is hidden.
It’s eclipsed by the hype of how good the desired thing will be.

For instance, Satan never leads with the relationship damage done when we’re selfish.
That’s not where he wants our focus.

Do you always have to choose the TV show or movie? How about how the money is spent or where the family goes on vacation? Sharing household chores? Childcare?

God tells us to put others above ourselves.
I find that a constant challenge.
How about you?
And the irony is that we’re often impatient, selfish, or inattentive with those closest to us.

I will try to walk a blameless path, but how I need your help, especially in my own home, where I long to act as I should. Psalm 101:2 TLB

Sure, sometimes people face huge temptations to horrific sin.
The kind that shipwreck lives.
But, most of the time we’re tempted to put ourselves first.
That’s what does the most damage to our relationships, our family, our friends, our co-workers, and our brothers and sisters at church.

Little by little, without an awareness of the consequences, we get sucked in by the BOLD PRINT of the lie.

God wants us to live in His love and to give our lives away for others.
Let’s start making decisions based on that.
Let’s start at home 😉

This post grew out of an awareness that my husband was getting short shrift in the evenings as I blogged.
That stops now.

Is there an area of your life God is speaking to you about?
Read the small print.